26 The Linguist Vol/59 No/6 2020
thelinguist.uberflip.com
REVIEWS
Fiona Baillie Student Affiliate, Scottish
Society Committee
I am a bit late to the game
when it comes to podcasts
– I find the choice quite
overwhelming. My
language combination is
English-Spanish, and
lockdown gave me the nudge to find a
Spanish-language podcast. I am drawn to
Latin American stories because that's where I
learned the language.
Produced by Radio Ambulante Studios, it
is a free podcast lasting 30 minutes. With a
new release every Friday, the team of
international journalists cover interesting
stories and events from Latin America,
delving into politics, science, economics and
the natural world. Some of the accents are
quite strong, so it is suitable for intermediate,
advanced or fluent Spanish speakers who
want to learn more about Latin America.
Recent episodes include 'Bolivia después
de Evo', 'Confinados con 1.800 vecinos' and
'El huracán lo llevamos dentro'. El hilo is a
great way to learn about global issues, people
and events that aren't necessarily on the
radar of UK-based news outlets.
elhilo.audio/episodios
Inspiration, intrigue, advice – whatever you're looking for in a podcast,
Listen and learn
El Hilo
cÉwvtáàá
The Allusionist
Anam Zafar Student Member, Editorial Board
The Allusionist is the
podcast for language
nerds. When it began, it
primarily focused on
exploring English lexicon,
etymology, idioms, slang
and more. Over time,
Helen Zaltzman's "adventures in language"
have evolved to embrace languages from all
around the world (including fictional ones), as
well as language-related subjects such as
translation, audio description and accents.
With different experts for each episode,
topics range from the whimsical (one answers
the question 'Why do we all sound like idiots
when we talk to babies?') to the topical
(another discusses the language used by the
press to talk about migration), and everything
in between. New episodes of 20-60 minutes
come out roughly every fortnight. So whatever
mood you're in, you are sure to find an
episode as silly, serious, long or short as you
like. Zaltzman's comedic flair means that even
the nerdiest episodes are entertaining and
digestible. I find myself chuckling along
frequently to her witty comments and
unashamed zeal for all things word-related.
theallusionist.org
David Stockings Career Affiliate
Have you ever wondered
whether linguistics could
be livened up using
snippets of show tunes,
cartoons and vintage
adverts? Neither had until I
started listening to Lexicon
Valley, a podcast hosted by John McWhorter,
Associate Professor of English and
Comparative Literature at Columbia University.
In its own words, the podcast is "about
language" and covers a huge range of
topics, from linguistic history ('Why Is "Ph"
Pronounced That Way?') to sociolinguistics
('From Uptalk to Vocal Fry, Women are Prolific
Language Innovators') and the grammar of
both English and other languages ('Chinese
Has No Grammar, Right? Wrong!').
I won't need to convince you that these
are things worth learning about in and of
themselves, but the tone in which the
information is delivered – academically
rigorous yet refreshingly light, and occasionally
downright irreverent – is what makes this
podcast one of my favourites. The topics are
eclectic but fascinating and the style whimsical
but insightful. I thoroughly recommend it.
slate.com/podcasts/lexicon-valley
Lexicon Valley
